Thursday, August 7, 2008

So even though I'm still stateside, I thought I'd get this blog started now. Once in Tanzania, I will probably only have internet access about three times a month, with low-speed connections for a minimal amount of time, so I thought I'd provide some basic info while sitting in a coffee shop in Surprise enjoying the comforts of electricity and indoor plumbing.

I will be in Tanzania from mid-September to mid-December teaching about preventing disease transmission in primary and secondary schools and whatever adult community groups are willing to host us, with Tanzanian teaching partners who will translate for us. We'll be living with Tanzanian families, completely immersed in the language and culture - I'm so excited!

I'm in the midst of planning and trying not to get overwhelmed. Things to consider:

-How to pack for three months, knowing that I will have to carry my luggage for up to four miles -Buying a "real" backpacking backpack-Determining appropriate gifts for the family I will be living with, knowing nothing about them - anyone have ideas??-Figuring how to vote from my homestay

Interesting tidbit: Based on Tanzanian law, I will officially be a Tanzanian resident for the three months I'm there, which means that if we have the opportunity to travel to say, Kenya, we're supposed to tell the border officials that we're residents of Tanzania.

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About Me

I'm a recent college grad and therefore currently caught up in the inevitable "Now What?!?!" time period. I'm interning for the summer with the Outreach Office of the United Methodist Church, spending my days assisting with AIDS education ministries, Sidewalk ministries, and many other projects that fall under the wonderfully broad category of "outreach ministry". On September 21, I'll leave for Tanzania to teach AIDS education in primary and secondary schools as well as adult community groups. Anyone know Swahili?? I'll return just before Christmas after a few days of playing tourist in London. As for what comes next ... there are a few possibilities at the moment... I promise to keep you posted as my plans take shape!